Corn-harvester.



No. 665,301. Patented Ian. I, I901. D. E. ANTHONY.

CORN HABVESTER.

(Application filed Apr. 6, i900..

No Model. 3 Sheets-Sheet I.

No. 665,30l Patented Ian. I, IQOI. .D. E. ANTHONY. con" HARVESTEB.

. (Application filed Apr; 6. 1900. (Nb Model.) 3 Shee.ts8heet 2.

No. 665,30L. Patented Ian; I, l90l.

' D. E. ANTHONY;

CORN HARVESTER.

. {Application filed Apr. 6, 1900.) Modem 1 a Sheets-Sheet a.

UNITED STATES DANIEL ELMER ANTHONY, OF AKRON, IOWA.

ATENT @Frirert.

CORN-HARVEUSTER SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.665,301, dated January 1, 19011 Application filed April 6, 1900.$erial1lo. 11,850. \No model.)

To aZZ whom itmay concern.-

Be it known that I, DANIEL ELMER AN- THONY, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Akron, in the county of Plymouth and State of Iowa,haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Corn-Harvesters, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a corn-harvester designed to remove the carfrom the stalk without breaking the stalk or pulling it from r theground and subsequently to husk the detached ears and deliver them intoa suitable receptacle.

The invention will be fully described here inafter, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a plan view of acorn-harvesting machine constructed in accordance with my invention.Fig. 2 is a side elevation. Fig. 3' is arear view of thesnapping-rollers and the driving mechanism. Fig. at is a side View ofthe gathering mechanism looking from the opposite side of Fig. 2. Fig. 5is a perspective view of the sectional gate at the foot of thesnapping-rollers. Fig. 6 is a transverse section of thesnapping-rollers. Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the coupling between thefront wheels and the frame of the machine. Fig. 8 is a detail viewshowing the construction of the front end of the frame. Fig. 9 is anelevation of the inner side of a portion of one of the gatherers.

A indicates the main frame of the machine, which is supported on wheelsB B, and this frame supports all the operative devices of the machine.It may be made of angle-iron or wood, as preferred, and must be ofsufficient strength and rigidity to properly support the operatingparts. Another frame, formed preferably of'a metal bar 0, bent tosubstantially V shape, is arranged in advance of the main frame, theends of the two arms of this frame being respectively hinged at o Tobars d, projecting forward from the main frame. In Fig. 1 only one ofthe bars 01 is seen, the other being hidden by the elevatorbelt. Theforward end of the frame 0 is curved and slotted horizontally, asindicated at 1, and just above the slot is a series of holes 2. A plate3 is secured to the frame, and on this plate a lever A is pivoted, saidlever projecting forwardly through slot 1 and being provided withupwardly-projecting lugs 5, one on each side of the bar 0. The curvatureof the front end of the frame 0 is the arc of a circle struck from thepivot of the lever 4. The forward end of the lever is pivotallyconnected to a bolt 6 in a bolsteror frame E, mounted on an axle e,which carries the front wheels F. A bar 7 is loosely connected at itsfront end to the bolt 6 and at its rear end to the pivot-pin of thelever beneath the plate 3. The levert extends rearwardly to be withinconvenient reach of the occupant of a seat 8, which is supported on theframe 0. The lever is provided with a latch bar 9, which extends througha guide-lug 10, the lugs 5, and either one of the series of holes. Bythis construction the operator is enabled to adjust the front wheels Flaterally with respect to the gathering mechanism, and thus adapt themachine for diiferent widths of rows of corn, so that when the horseswhich are attached to the frame or bolster Eare properly driven on onerow the gathering mechanism will be directly in place on the row beinggathered.

G and H represent the gatherers, substaniially triangular in form andthe upper edges of which incline upwardly and rearwardly. Thesegatherers may be of wood or sheet-iron and'are supported in any suitablemanner on the main frame to bring their lower rear corners nearer toeach other than are their lower front corners, so that the space betweenthem gradually contracts toward the rear. Flanges g and h are secured tothe upper edges of the respective gatherers, or they may be integralwith them. Each of the gatherers G and H is slotted near its upper edgein order to permit the fingers 12 to project into the space between thesaid gatherers. These fingers are carried by sprocket-chains 13, whichrun over sprocket-wheels 14, journaled in suitable bearings on thegatherers or their supports. The flanges g and h protect the chains andwheels and prevent the corn from becoming entangled in them.

Substantially parallel to the slots through which the fingers 12 projectare projections 15, extending inwardly toward each other on the innerfaces oft he gatherers G and H, and,

as shown in Fig. 1, these projections diverge from each otherrearwardly. They are slotted to permit the fingers 16 to extend into thespace between them, said fingers being carried by sprocket-chains 17,which run over sprocket-wheels l8, and the chains 17 may be driven bythe chains 13, as indicated in Fig. 2. The construction is designed tobe such that at the lower and forward ends of the projections 15 theopposing fingers 16 will almost touch each other, and as they are verynear to the ground at this point they will gather up any stalks whichmay be lying down, no matter which way they may be lying.

The gatherers G and H are supported at their lower edges on bars 19 and19, which are rigidly connected to the main frame and to a frame L, tobe hereinafter referred to. The forward ends of the flanges g and h andthe bars 19 and 19 form points i, which are turned up slightly to formnoses or shoes to prevent the gatherers ru 11 ninginto the ground incase they should contact with it. Preferably the bars 19 and 19 will beof angle-iron, as indicated in Fig. 2; but they may be flat bars andpreferably of substantially the same width as the flanges g and h. If ofangle-iron, the horizontal legs will be preferably of substantially thesame width as the said flanges.

Projections 20 extend forwardly from the lowereuds of the projections 15and graudally decrease in width until they merge into the gatherers attheir noses i, and as the fingers 12 work down close to the bottom ofthe gatherers the latter, in connection with the fingers 12 andprojections 20, will pick up every stalk and elevate and guide it intothe space between the gatherers G and H.

At the rear of the gatherers G and [I are the snapping-rollersJand K.These are journaled at their upper and lower ends in bearings carried bya suitable framework, (indicated generally by L,) which needs nodetailed description, it being sufficient to say that it is carried bythe main frame A and is ofsuitable shape, strengtl1,and material. Therollers J and K are inclined somewhat from the vertical, their lowerends being nearest to the front of the machine. The roller J iscorrugated longitudinally, and the roller K is spirally grooved. Thepitch of the spiral grooves It" in the roller K is such that when theroller is inclined as shown and rotated the spirals will beperpendicular with the stalk while the latter is working through betweenthe rollers. The grooves 7c are also of sufficient depth to receive thestalks withoutcrushing them. By this construction when one of thegrooves engages a stalk near its lower end said groove keeps in constantengagement with the stalk without bending or crushing it, the area ofthe engagementgradually moving up the stalk and roller until the stalkpasses entirely from between the rollers. In cross-section the groovesis have one side 21 at substantially a right angle to the periphery ofthe roller, while the remaining portion of the groove is obliquethereto. It is the side 21 which pushes against the stalk as it passesthrough between the rollers. The corrugations in the roller J are alsoformed with one side 22 at substantially a right angle to the peripheryof the roller, While the other side 23 is oblique thereto. When thestalk is passing through between the rollers, the edges of the sides 21and 22 of the respective rollers K and J will cooperate to pinch off theears from the stalk, and as the grooves k are deep the two rollers canwork very close together without crushing the stalk. Furthermore, as thestalk will offer very little resistance to the rotation of the rollersin passing between them, this being due to the depth and particular formand arrangement of the grooves 70, as before described, it will requireless power to operate the machine effectively than is required in mostmachines of the same class and capacity.

In order that the stalks may freely enter between the rollers J and K attheir lower ends, each is tapered and spirally grooved, as indicated by23 and 24, respectively. In the case of the rollerJ the spiral grooves23 are on the tapered lower portion only, while on K the grooves 24 arecontinuations of the grooves 70.

From the passage-way between the gatherers G and H an elevating-belt Yextends in an inclined plane transversely across the machine. The lowerroller 1 over which said belt runs, is just in advance of thesnappingrollers J and K and near their lower ends. The plate H extendsonly to the forward edge of the belt Y, and from the rear edge of saidplate II a guard-plate 25 extends to the front side of the frame 26,which supports the belt Y, the function of this plate 25 being toprevent the ears of corn falling outside of plate H. Anotherguard-plate27 extends upwardly from the rear side of the frame 26 and prevents theears of corn from falling outside of the elevator-belt Y at that point.

In order to arrest the ears of corn at the foot of the elevator-belt Y,I have provided a gate made up of a plurality of plate-sections m. Eachsection is mounted on a bar 28, and all the bars are pivotally mountedon a stud or pin 29, supported in any suitable manner on the gatherer H,just in advance of the' guard-plate 25, and each has a spring 30, whichsprings normally tend to force the sections m toward the inner face ofthe plate G. The forward corner of each section is cut away, as shown at3]., to present an inclined face to the incoming stalk, and as themachine moves forward the stalk will engage these inclined faces andforce the sections m successively to one side; but only one section willbe displaced at the same time. On the inner face of the gatherer G is ashelf or projection 32,

downwardly toward the opposing edges of the sections 192, and thesections also incline downwardly toward the elevator-belt Y, so that theears as theyare pinched off by the rollers which overhangs and inclines0f the rollers.

J and K will fall down on the shelf 32 and the sections on and normallytend to roll onto the elevator-belt.

It will be observed that the fiange h is shorter than the flange g, andin order to positively guide the stalks up to the rollers J and K, Iprovide a rod N, which extends from the plate It into close proximity tosaid rollers.

The roller K is provided at its upper end with a shaft 0, upon the upperend of which a fiy-wheel O is mounted. The function of this fiy-wheel isto insure uniform rotation of the roller K when a very large hill ofcorn or more than one stalk may be passing between the rollers.

The elevator-belt Y will deliver the ears of corn into a trough P, inthe bottom of which a pair of huskiug-rollersp is mounted,

these husking-rollers being of any suitable construction capable ofremoving the husks from the ears. The trough P inclines downwardly fromthe elevator-belt toward the rear of the machine, and the ears will passfrom it into another trough Q, extending at a right angle to the troughP, and in the bottom of which a carrier-chain q is supported, said chainbeing provided with pins T, which will engage the ears of corn and movethem along the trough Q, from whence they may be discharged into anysuitable receptacle.

It is necessary, when the machine is in operation, that some means beprovided to raise and lower the front ends of thegatherers Gand H tosuit the condition of the corn. Various mechanisms may be devised forthis purpose; but I prefer to provide a bar S, which is rigidly attachedto the main frame of the machine and extends beyond it to a point aboutmidway the length of one side of the frame 0. A segmental rack s isrigidly attached to the forward end of this bar, and to it is pivoted alever T, pro vided with a latch-bar 25, adapted to engage with the teethof the segmental rack and lock the lever in any desired position. Thelever T is provided with an arm u, to which one end of the link o isloosely connect ed, the other end of said link being loosely connectedto the side of the frame 0. When the lever T is in the position shown inFig. 2, the forward ends of the gatherers G and H will rest upon theground; but when said lever is pulled over toward the seat 8 the frame Awill rock upon the main axle, and thereby elevate the front ends of thegatherers G and H.

Upon the main axle a a sprocket-wheel 35 is rigidly mounted, or if thewheels B turn independently of the axle then said sprocketwheel 35 willbe rigidly attached to the wheel B adjacent to the gathering mechanism.This sprocket-wheel 35 transmits movement to another sprocket-wheel 36,which in turn transmits motion to a shaft 37,journaled in the frame Labove the rollers J and K. A bevelgear 38 is secured to the shaft 37 andmeshes with a bevel-gear 39 on the upper end of one The rollers K andJare geared together, as indicated at 40, so that when the machine ismoving forward motion will be transmitted from the wheel B to saidrollers and they will move in opposite directions. A shaft 41 is gearedto one of the'rollers and is provided with a bevel-gear 42, which mesheswith a similar gear 43, the latter being rigidly connected to thesprocket-wheel 14 at the upper end of the gatherer G, and motion is thusimparted to the chain 13. The shaft 44, upon which the sprocket-Wheel 36is mounted, carries a hevehgear45, which meshes with a similar wheel 46,which is rigidly connected to a sprocket-wheel 47. A sprocket-chain 48runs over the wheel 47 and another wheel 49, connected to the roller atthe upper end of the elevator-belt Y, and motion is thus transmitted tothe elevator-belt Y. On the opposite end of said upper roller is a gear50, which transmits motion to a gear 51 on one of the huskin'g-rolls 19,said rolls being geared together to turn in opposite directions. A shaft52 extends from the positively-driven roller p and carries asprocket-wheel 53, over which a chain runs to a sprocket-wheel 54 andwhich transmits movement to the elevating-chain g, which works in thetrough Q. On the other end of the shaft 44 is a bevel-gear which mesheswith a similar gear which is fastened to the sprocket which is at thetop of the gatherer H, and motion is thus imparted to the chains on thisside of the gatherers.

From the foregoing description the operation of the machine will bereadily understood, and it is therefore unnecessary to describe it indetail.

It is evident that some features of my invention may be used separatelyor in connection with others or with other equivalent features and thatthe details of construction and arrangement may be varied withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention.

Having described the invention, I claim 1. In a corn harvester, thecombination with the snapping-rollers, of spaced gatherers supported inadvance of the rollers and converging rearwardly toward each other, eachgatherer being substantially triangular in shape and having a nose orshoe at the junction of its upper and lower edges, and each gathererbeing slotted near its upper edge and provided with a slotted projection15 on its inner face substantially parallel with the slot, and fingersprojecting through said slots and slotted projections and carried bychains movably supported on the gatherers, substantially as set forth.2. In a corn-harvester,: the combination 7 5: 5 with thesnapping-rollers,ofspaced-gatherers 2 front ends of the gatherers anddiverging toward their forward ends, substantially as set forth.

3. In a corn-harvester, the combination with the snapping-rollers, ofspaced gatherers supported in advance of the rollers, each gathererbeing slotted near its upper edge and provided with a projection 15 onits inner face, substantially parallel with the slot, said projectionsbeing also slotted, and chains supported to travel over Wheels mountedon the outer faces of said gatherers, each chain carrying a series offingers which project through the respective slots into the spacebetween the gatherers, substantially as set forth.

4. In a corn-harvester, a pair of snappingrollers inclining rearwardlyat their upper ends, one of said rollers being corrugated longitudinallyand the other spirally grooved, the pitch of said grooves being suchthat when the roller is in its inclined position and operating upon astalk of corn the engaging portion of the groove will be substantiallyvertical with the stalk, substantially as set forth.

5. In a corn harvester, the combination with the gatherers and thesnapping-rollers, of an elevator-belt leading from the lower portion ofthe space between said gatherer-s immediately in advance of thesnapping-rollers, a gate comprising a plurality of independently-movablesections arranged one in advance of the other and extending across thespace between the foot of the elevatorbelt and the outer gatherer, eachsection having an inclined front face, and each being provided with abar 28, a stud or pin on which all the bars are pivoted, and independentsprings engaging the respective bars to normally force the sectionstoward the outer gatherer, substantially as set forth.

6. In a corn-harvester, the combination with the gatherers and thesnapping-rollers, of an elevator-belt leading from the inner side of thespace between the gatherer-s, a gate comprising a plurality ofindependently-pivoted, spring actuated sections extending across thespace between the foot of the belt and the outer gatherer and incliningdownwardly toward said belt, the pivots of said sections being on thesame side of the space as the belt, and an overhanging inclined shelfsecured to the inner face of the gatherer opposing the belt,substantially as set forth.

7. In a corn -harvester, the combination with the main frame and itssupportingwheels and the gathering devices supported by said main frame,of a front frame hinged to the main frame, a lever pivoted to the frontend of said frame and projecting beyond it, a pair of supporting-wheels,a bolster or frame carried by said wheels and connected to the forwardend of said lever whereby when said lever is turned upon its pivot thefront wheels may be moved laterally toward or away from the gatheringdevices, and means to lock said lever in its adjusted position,substantially as set forth.

8. In a corn-harvester, a pair of spaced gatherers, each gatherer beingslotted near its upper edge and provided with a projection 15 on itsinner face substantially parallel with the slot, said projections beingalso slotted, and fingers projecting through said slots and carried bychains movably supported on the gatherers, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

DANIEL ELMER ANTHONY.

Witnesses:

EMERY E. MELLEN, CHRISTINA MELLEN.

